Why Heat Pumps are Immensely Important Right Now

I’m backtracking the debate here so feel free to ignore this. I just watched the latest Technology Connections video about heat pumps[1] where he talks about the total energy savings in replacing gas stoves with heat pumps to provide residential heating, with total energy savings up to 5 times. This goes to show my previous point about how “[w]e don’t need to replace carbon power 1:1 if we patch up the inefficiencies of our current energy use.” So to answer your concern that: > Electrifying railways and other transportation is going to increase electricity usage, not decrease it. All else being equal, yes. However we are not going to replace the energy consumption 1:1. Electrical railways have the potential to be far more efficient in the energy use. Especially if you consider the potential increase in traction allowing better track usage which will pull super inefficient cars and lorries from the road and onto the tracks. Also a minor correction: > So assuming that electricity consumption is going to decrease is a very dubious prospect. No, I don’t assume that. However I am hopeful that we can easily decrease our total energy consumption as we electrify. Meaning that if we are still pumping gas to put into our newly electrified infrastructure and consumer systems, there is a potential that we need to pump less of it for the same benefits because of how much more efficient these new electrified systems are over the old fossil fuel powered ones. 1: [this video]